


You Say You Know Me, But That’s Not Truly Who I Am

by jbird181



Series: 13 Days of Falling in Love [13]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-18 04:14:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13674069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbird181/pseuds/jbird181
Summary: Stone liked to keep his personal life separate from his work, but it was becoming increasingly difficult when Ezekiel Jones, the man he’d mooned over for years, watching and re-watching Master Thief, Some Master Thief, and even the weird Australian TV show where Ezekiel had made his debut, was right in front of him and he was supposed to kiss him.





	You Say You Know Me, But That’s Not Truly Who I Am

**Author's Note:**

> Day 13: Fake Dating
> 
> Stone and Ezekiel are actors cast as the romantic leads in a movie. 
> 
> The title comes from [Laugh Till I Cry](https://youtu.be/uxBzN6i0EoE) by The Front Bottoms.

“Be careful, okay?”

“I’m always careful,” Ezekiel, well, Alexander, drawls.

“I mean it. Don’t pull any stupid stunts, don’t try to play hero, just follow the plan and we’ll be right behind you.”

“Yes sir, Captain, sir.”

“Alex, please.”

“Look, the revolution is more important than one person,” Ezekiel hisses. It was a conversation Stone’s and Ezekiel’s characters had had many times in the past, judging by the script and the book it was based off, both of which Stone had read many times.

“Not to me.” This was it, this was the big kiss scene. Stone liked to keep his personal life separate from his work, but it was increasingly difficult when Ezekiel Jones, the man he’d mooned over for years, watching and re-watching Master Thief, Some Master Thief, and even the weird Australian TV show where Ezekiel had made his debut, was right in front of him and he was supposed to kiss him. Well, he was supposed to kiss Alexander before he left for the battle. No, first he says, “I love you” in 12-point Courier font. And then he kisses him, and then Alexander says, “I know.”

And then they can move on to the next scene.

Stone’s fingers brush Ezekiel’s shoulder and he grasps it, trying to steady himself as he leans in—“Cut!” Flynn yells.

Stone hastily steps back and shoves his hands into his pockets.

“I’m not feeling it—Eve, are you feeling it? Where’s the spark? This is the big climax, guys,” Flynn rambles.

He probably would’ve continued if Eve hadn’t spoken up. “Yes, Flynn, I agree it’s missing something, but to be fair, you two did just meet today.” She makes a note on her script. “I want you to hang out tonight and get to know each other, okay?”

“Okay,” Stone says. He wanted to hang out with Ezekiel anyway, and this was as good an excuse as any.

“Like a _date_?”

“No, Ezekiel. Not unless you want it to be,” Eve laughs.

“Okay, fine. Whatever,” Ezekiel sighs. “Let’s just grab dinner or something.”

“Sounds good.”

“Perfect, now that that’s cleared up, I want to finishing walking through the script,” Flynn interjects.

Luckily, the rest of the script, while not any less romantic, does not call upon Stone to kiss his celebrity crush who also seems to want nothing to do with him.

“Okay,” Ezekiel says after they’ve said goodbye to Eve and Flynn. “What are you in the mood for?”

“Oh, um, whatever,” Stone stammers, caught off guard.

“Wow, that’s so helpful.” Ezekiel pulls on his jacket. “You’re getting pizza then.”

Stone could care less what they eat. “What’s your problem, man?”

“What? My problem?”

“With me.”

“I don’t have a problem with you,” Ezekiel states, striding towards the subway station so Stone has to jog to catch up.

The subway’s crowded, so it should be perfectly normal for them to ignore each other as their shoulders jostle into each other, blending in with the rest of the tired crowd heading home for the day, but Stone feels like he’s choking on the tension.

Ezekiel half-heartedly shoves the door as he goes through it so it’ll stay open for Stone when they arrive at the pizzeria.

“Wow. You bring all your dates here?” Stone quips, and he can’t see Ezekiel’s face, but if he were a betting man, he’d bet his salary Ezekiel’s rolling his eyes.

Ezekiel turns around, his face suddenly inches from Stone’s. “Yeah, it’s step one in the Ezekiel Jones Seduction Handbook,” he murmurs, and Stone has to fight the urge to step back or laugh to break the tension. He can feel his face growing hot anyway, and Ezekiel steps away again, muttering, “That’s what I thought. Come on, pick some pizza so we can get this over with.”

Maybe Ezekiel will be more willing to talk with a full stomach, so Stone files another question away and buys a slice of mushroom pizza. He sits down in a booth while Ezekiel pays, and he’s like a totally different person with the cashier, smiling and chatting with them as he signs the receipt.

The pizza’s really good, the perfect ratio of cheese to sauce, and Stone tells Ezekiel so. He’s rewarded a smirk. “Pizza’s the one thing the States might have over Australia. I said might, mind you.”

“Do you miss Australia?”

“Do you miss Oklahoma?” Ezekiel shoots back, and Stone leaves a dent in his cup when he stalls with a gulp of water.

“Look man, I’m just trying to break the ice. If this were, like a date, I’d be trying to get to know you.”

“Then good thing it’s not a date.”

Stone scrubs a hand over his face. “Well our characters are dating, and it’s going to be a hell of a lot less awkward if we can hold a regular conversation.”

“Then answer the question.”

“Fine. Fine, I miss Oklahoma, but I don’t really miss the place, I miss something I can’t ever get back because I don’t want to hide anymore.”

It’s Ezekiel’s turn to buy time by drinking water, his features softer than they were previously. There’s something poetic about gaining control of a situation with vulnerability.

“An answer for an answer, Jones.”

“That’s fair. What do you want to know?” Ezekiel meets his gaze, a challenge and Stone blanks.

“Do you… have any siblings?”

“Oh come on, that’s so boring. You could get that from my Wikipedia page. You’ve gotta have questions for me.” He twists his voice into a sharp approximation of an American accent, volume rising. “Ezekiel, is it true you’ve been to juvie? Ezekiel, tell us about your ‘tragic past’. Ezekiel, how does being gay affect your work?” He sets down the half-eaten slice of pizza he’s been gesturing with and visibly breathes out. “I’m not even gay,” he snorts as an afterthought.

“Really? I thought—”

“I’m bi.”

A bark of laughter escapes Stone, then another, and he can’t stop. “Me too,” he finally chokes out, and then Ezekiel joins him, and nothing’s really funny, but it feels good to laugh.

When they’ve calmed down a bit, Stone says, “I’m sorry if I came off as rude, or stand-offish before. I really didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay. But, if you’re not… why were you so weird about the scene, earlier? Do you not like me or something? Cause that’s fine, totally fine, but I mean, it’d be unprofessional if we let that get in the way of the movie.”

“Of course I like you, I like you too much,” Stone snorts, caught up in the honesty of the moment.

“What do you mean?” Ezekiel probes.

Stone swallows. He reaches for his drink again, almost knocks it over in the process, and decides it would be better to just leave it be.

“Look I really want to do this project. A movie like this would’ve meant the world to me back in Oklahoma, but don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I wasn’t going to try anything. I just wanted to be your friend, if I could.”

“What if…” Ezekiel licks his lips, voice a whisper. “What if I wanted more than that?”

Stone turns the words over in his mind, trying to translate them like he translates Ancient Greek into something he can understand. “Then… I’d take you on a date.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, and I’d ask you about your day and yourself, and I might trip over myself trying to be funny and interesting because I really like you, and I would hope you’d forgive me.”

“I would. And I’d hope you’d forgive me too, for making unfair assumptions.”

“I do.” It was like walking across ice, Stone thinks, arms outstretched in a desperate attempt to keep your balance and this fragile peace. “Could we try again?”

“I’d love to,” says Ezekiel.

They finish their pizza and leave holding hands.

“If this was a date,” says Ezekiel, standing outside his apartment building, “and you wanted me to, I’d kiss you goodnight.”

“Too bad this wasn’t a date, huh?” Ezekiel stares at him. “Your words, not mine. But I guess I could make an exception.”

“You’re so full of it,” Ezekiel laughs, but when Stone sets a cautious hand on his side, he closes the distance. It’s not scripted, it’s not the climax of a story, and it’s not an “I love you”, not yet.

It is a great kiss, though.

And it’s a beginning.


End file.
